Wedgwood Water Main Break "Like a Swift Moving River"

23rd Ave. NE after the flood. Mud and debris cover the road.

Fran Camber was in her home on 23rd Ave NE when a water main two blocks to the north burst. It was just past 12:30 p.m.

"I looked out the window and it was like a river," she said. "A swift moving river."

By 3 p.m. crews from Seattle Public Utilities had closed the break, but the damage to nearby homes was done.

"My boyfriend called and said the basement was flooded," said Katie Eshelman, who owns a home on 23rd Ave NE. "When I got home, there was eight inches of water in the basement. Our computer, furnace, washer, dryer and basement furniture are basically ruined."

The Seattle Fire Department said about 10 homes were evacuated due to the water. Battalion Chief Cox gave a conservative estimate on the amount of water released.

"It was a 12-inch water main that probably releases 3,000 to 5,000 gallons a minute and the break was open for an hour," he said.

The water flowed south from out from the break at the intersection at NE 80th St and 23rd Ave NE and moved through and around several houses near the break and down a slight incline all the way to NE 75th. 24th and 23rd Avenues one block north of NE 75th were covered with mud and debris.

Seattle Public Utilities said that, initially, 75 homes lost water pressure. Quick work has restored water pressure to about 40 of those homes and SPU believes pressure will be restored to the rest later tonight. SPU crews with backhoes are already scooping up the mud.